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Attention deficit disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a widespread affliction that we are just beginning to understand. Affecting 3-4 million children in the United States, and probably a larger number of adults, ADHD is considered the most common pediatric disorder. ADHD is a compulsive disorder, usually genetic in origin, caused by imbalances of neurotransmitters, the messengers that communicate between the neurons in the brain. It strikes in childhood and continues into adulthood. Fortunately, chiropractors have documented instances of effective treatment for children diagnosed with ADHD.

Up to 6 million children display symptoms and learning disabilities that are labeled as ADD/ADHD. They are often prescribed medications that have not been proven safe and effective, and may even have serious side effects. Research shows that many of these children may be pre-disposed to addictive behavior and obsessive/compulsive disorder due to a genetic variant, and that the medications can exacerbate substance abuse and other dangerous behaviors. Family chiropractors frequently see these children in their offices and correlate symptoms with both vertebral subluxations and lifestyle factors, including diet, lifestyle, and emotional stressors. As chiropractors, the ultimate goal of care is to improve overall function by reducing vertebral subluxations that interfere with life expression.

In one compelling case, a mother brought her seven-year-old daughter in for chiropractic evaluation. Her primary concerns were her daughter’s hyperactive behavior, sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating in school, and aggressive behavior toward her sister.

After the mother filled out a behavioral and personality assessment and general health history form, the Torque Release Chiropractic technique was used to determine the location of vertebral subluxations. The patient began a regimen of chiropractic adjustments to her vertebral subluxations three times a week, along with craniosacral therapy. The mother and child were instructed on dietary changes and nutritional supplements that would support neurological function, and the mother received instructions on visual and kinesthetic communication techniques. During the course of the girl’s chiropractic care, her mother completed a weekly monitor of the child’s sleeping and appetite patterns as well as behavioral traits, rating them on a 1-10 scale. Over the course of her 90-day treatment schedule, these assessments reflected improvements in the daughter’s behavior.

Many chiropractors report anecdotal success with ADHD patients who have received subluxation-based chiropractic, and present research is revealing how subluxation-based chiropractic works. This is more understandable by taking a closer look at the pleasure center of the brain.

A State of well-being is manifest when the mesolimbic system’s brain reward cascade (Figure 1) of neurotransmitter mechanisms is expressed without interference. The vertebral motor units are in intimate relationship with the brain reward cascade mechanism by virtue of the nociceptive reflex from vertebrae to limbic system. This may explain a recent finding that only vertebrates have opiate receptors, suggesting that only vertebrates experience a state of well-being as we know it. Thus, if a subluxation is manifest, it interferes in our ability to experience a state of well-being. As research continues, new information will allow us to understand why subluxation-based chiropractic affords us the ability to develop greater self-confidence and improve our physical and mental well-being.

Autism is a behavioral developmental disorder generally presenting in children in the first 18 months of life. Individuals with autism are affected in different ways, but all seem to suffer from a triad of abnormalities: difficulty in interacting with others, impairments in communication, and difficulty in thinking imaginatively. The estimated population of people with autism in New Zealand is approximately 40,000 or 1 in every 100 people. The causes of autism are unknown, though genetic associations, along with internal and external environmental stimuli – both in-utero and at any stage post-partum – are the most accepted theories regarding the causes of autism. No matter the cause, those affected by autism have problems with sensory-neural integration and consequent motor output.

A 3½ year old girl was brought in for chiropractic care after being diagnosed twelve months prior with autism. The child did not speak or communicate with anyone except through screaming and tantrum-like outbursts. She would not socialize with her peers and did not engage in physical activity other than that initiated during a tantrum. Both constipation and sleep disturbances were noted at several stages of her life. The mother described the birth as non-traumatic; however, the child was delivered via vacuum extraction with the mother receiving an epidural. Immediately following birth the child was separated from her mother and received a vitamin K injection along with all standard vaccinations, and she was reported to have reacted differently to other children. She slept for 24 hours after receiving the first series of vaccinations. The child suffered a fall from her cot at 5 months of age with no noticeable damage, and she was breastfed for 18 months. She had not spoken at all and only verbalized via screaming, which was observed on presentation.

The initial chiropractic exam revealed decreased respiration in the thoraco-lumbar region and a fast left cervical syndrome. Palpation and range of motion testing, along with spinal, thermal, and electromyography (EMG) scans, were difficult to conduct due to the apprehension of the child. The initial EMG was consequently only performed on the lumbar spine. These initial EMG and thermography scans revealed large areas of asymmetrical motor and autonomic function respectively throughout the entire spine. The scans were performed using the Insight™ surface EMG and thermal scanning technology. The child was checked and adjusted 28 times over a 10-week period using the Torque Release Technique (TRT) model and Integrator™ instrument.

After five adjustments within two weeks, the child—who was previously very apprehensive – was able to lay on the table herself, and by the sixth visit was holding the chiropractor’s hand. The doctor also noted that on the fifth visit, the patient demonstrated emotional response when her C2 was adjusted for the first time. By the tenth visit the child verbalized for the first time while being adjusted and was reported to be laughing during the same week. During the 6th week under care and her 18th visit, the child was reported to have been constipated. No signs were present 24 hours later, at the 19th visit. Comparable thermal and EMG scans were taken at 1 and 2 months following the onset of care. Importantly, the EMG scan was able to be taken of the full spine on both follow-up occasions. Increased balance and symmetry was noted on the 1st month’s scans in both motor and autonomic function as tested bilaterally parallel to the spine, which further improved on the 2nd month scans.

Current literature fails to identify any single anatomical, physical, physiological, psychological, or neurochemical cause for autism, and no single trait is pathognomonic for a diagnosis. Recent studies suggest environmental causes such as infection, digestive dysfunction, autoimmune responses and side effects to antibiotics and vaccines, but these appear to only be associations.

Whatever the cause, there appears to be a problem with environmental perception (sensory neural integration) and subsequent response (motor output). Despite uncertainty in pathogenesis, autopsy results on autistic subjects have yielded consistent findings in the cerebral and particularly cerebellar regions of the brain. Twelve autistic cases showed Purkinje neuronal loss with a consequent reduction in size, most notably in the posterior cerebellar vermis. The vermis receives visual, auditory and vestibular inputs as well as somatic sensory input from the head and proximal parts of the body. Hence the vermis plays a large role in sensing the surrounding environment, a function that appears to be affected in autistic people. Thus the part of the brain that plays a major role in perceiving the environment appears to be reduced in size, cell number and also function in autistic patients.

Here subluxation-based chiropractic care can have its impact. A vertebral subluxation refers to a mechanical problem in the spine that relates to nerve interference. Due to altered biomechanics of the spine, a subluxation can lead to an imbalance in sensory input into both the cerebrum and cerebellum – especially the vermis – from the left, right, or both sides of the body. This sensory dysafferentation then leads to alteration in the central integrative state of the neuronal cells involved with initiating the response to the environmental stimuli (cerebellum and motor cortex initially), which in the case of autistic children can manifest as either hyperactive or hypoactive responses to their environment. Adjustments have the effect of resetting the joint and the mechanoreceptor activity to a resting state with a subsequent change in the central integrative state of the central nervous system, leading to a more appropriate response to the environment.

This case report illustrates how an improvement respectively in both subjective and objective behavioral patterns and nerve system symmetry followed chiropractic care in a child with autism. Similar cases have been published previously with comparable behavioral changes; however, further research is required to determine the exact role of chiropractic in benefiting children with autism.

What is your most valuable asset in life? This is a no brainer but I just wanted to make you think about it more than you probably have in the past. It is you and your family’s health of course! In today’s society it is extremely important to find someone you can trust your family’s health with in a natural non-invasive way. We have a major health crisis going on in the United States and people are sicker than ever, yet 97% of Americans are still going about their health the same old way. I like to refer to this as the “American Pill Cycle” and it goes something like this.

Headache?—Take This (now that upset my stomach)

Upset Stomach—Take This (now I can’t focus)

Now you can’t focus—Take This (this Adderall still has me wired)

Finally home and can’t sleep—Take This (I love my Ambien I sleep great)

Wake up the next morning with a headache—REPEAT!

There are many different variations of this cycle and I am sure you and I both know someone who is following this routine always trying to cover up the symptoms instead of asking themselves why this keeps happening. My father once told me the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. I never related this to health before, but if we keep doing the same things we are doing now we are never going to get healthier. We will just keep on heading the wrong direction until there is no hope left. It is time for a change! Drugs are the answer for the flawed concept of health so many people have! They do have a time and a place and can save lives but too many of us rely on them for everything.

My blood pressure is under control because of the pill I will have to take every day for the rest of my life

I am at major risk for a heart attack but my doctor said to take an aspirin every day and I will be fine

I don’t want to have babies right now so I take a pill to turn off my reproductive system and just hope that it works normal again when I am ready to have them

I cry and get upset when people die (which is normal!) but my doctor gave me a pill so I don’t get depressed over it

Blah, blah, blah, blah…keep on living this way if you want!

Relatively speaking, Medicine/Pharmaceuticals are very new in the health care field and we need to be extremely careful with them. We have countries like Cuba and Panama (third world countries) with better health care systems and longer survival rates than we do. Looking to the spine for the root of all disease has been around since Hippocrates was alive and we need to stray back to our roots of natural health.

Let me ask you a question. Who do you think controls what we here on the radio and television every day that is broadcasted to billions of people? Pharmaceutical companies! No one has the money to compete with them and they are brainwashing people on a daily basis which has lead us into this health crisis and lead them to be the largest business in the world.

Chiropractic is not the same as it used to be as long as you go to a new aged Principled Chiropractor. This profession has advanced tremendously over the years and should be a first resort as well as a routine part of every man, women and child’s life! Specific Scientific Chiropractic is giving people their life back every day in a natural and drug free way. How do you want to live the rest of your life?

Anxiety is an increasingly common condition. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, it’s the most prevalent mental disorder, affecting 40 million U.S. adults. When left untreated, anxiety, depression and addictions can control your life.

Dr. Shane Kurth, a Torque Release Technique Chiropractor in Louisville, CO, has had firsthand experience of the toll anxiety can take on your life. Anxiety had controlled his life for as long as he can remember. After going to the hospital after his first panic attack he tried just about every way possible to beat it. Guess what? Chiropractic and specifically the Torque Release Technique, the newest most advanced and scientific technique chiropractic has to offer, have saved his life! He is one of the thousands of people who have sought out this anxiety treatment and have had life changing results.

Our Chiropractic office in {LOCATION} has people coming in to experience the natural treatment plans we offer to get people’s lives back on track! The treatment is extremely effective and the results are coming way quicker than any medication has to offer. We are helping people overcome: Anxiety, depression, addiction, ocd, insomnia, adhd and more!

We are helping families fro{LOCAL COMMUNITIES} achieve a better quality of life through specific scientific chiropractic!